The role and responsibilities of The Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee (OPGT), under the auspices of the Ministry of the Attorney General – Family Justice Services Division in Ontario, are to safeguard the legal, personal and financial interest of private individuals and estates. The focus here is on the private individual.

Recently two people shared with me that they had to go through this process with the OPGT office to be appointed Guardian for their mother and aunt respectively. The process was time consuming, emotionally draining and cost several thousands of dollars.

With the Holiday season here, you may have the opportunity to visit family and friends you haven’t seen in some time. You may even notice changes in their cognitive and physical ability. If you are the person who will likely be responsible for their financial and personal well being, it is prudent to inquire if they have valid Power of Attorneys for Property and Personal Care in place.

While the OPGT is there to protect vulnerable individuals, the entire process could be avoided with valid POA in place.

If a person is incapable and there are not valid POA in place, then the OPGT will conduct an investigation. Every effort is made by the OPGT to locate another person such as a relative, who is available, willing, and capable of acting on the behalf of an incapable person. In this case; with submission and approval of a detailed plan of how the incapable relative’s finances and property will be managed, The OPGT is authorized to appoint the client’s relative to act in the place of the OPGT as the Guardian of Property.

As a last resort, this investigation may result in the OPGT seeking the court’s permission to make decisions on the person’s behalf on a temporary or permanent basis.

For more information about the programs offered by the OPGT please click here.

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